Cupcakes at Midnight

Chapter 15

It feels too early to ask Ava about the wedding, especially with all the other stuff going on, but then, there aren't too many weekends left before it happens, I realize. Holy shit, time has flown by.

When Matt had asked Ivy to marry him, she almost said no. She was so convinced she wasn't the marrying kind--whatever that meant.

I hang my dress back up in the closet. Ivy texts when she's home, as promised, and I reply to ask when we can get together tomorrow. I'm sure my mom will want to be there, but I know Ivy and she'll love that. We make plans for lunch out, and I decide to fill my mom in tomorrow morning.

There won't be any sleep happening soon naturally, so I employ a little pharmaceutical assistance. In no time, my eyes are as heavy as lead doors.

Mom's made breakfast by the time I wake up, and taken her walk around the block. I smirk to myself at her fuchsia velour tracksuit; it's perfectly Carol.

"Thanks for cooking, Mom. We could have just had cereal."

"Now where's the fun in that? Besides, you had almost everything right here."

We sit at the table and I dip my toast in my egg yolks, suddenly feeling ten years old.

"Ivy wants to have lunch and discuss some wedding stuff today, do you want to go?"

"Of course, I'd love to! How are you feeling, though? We've laid some pretty heavy stuff out on the table this week, are you sure you don't need some downtime?"

I nod, and try to get down into how I'm actually feeling.

"I'm mostly okay, you know? There's a lot still simmering there, but I'm trying to do my best."

"Well, I'm really proud of you. I know digging some of this up has to be tough, and I'm glad you can talk to me."

"Thank you. I'm so lucky to have you as my mom."

We finish our breakfast and coffee, then lounge around the house for a bit, watching Hulu and playing with Cat. Mom FaceTimes with Dad, which is hilarious. He keeps turning the camera the wrong way, moving the phone so the camera changes position from horizontal to vertical, and then some. I can hear the dogs in the background and Cat is at full attention with their barking. They seem so happy to hear Mom's voice.

When Dad asks when she might be home, she gives him a look and says, "Oh, I'll get there when I get there."

It comforts me that she's not in a rush to go.

Lunch time rolls around, and I throw my hair into a ponytail and change from my pajamas into something passable for daytime. Mom changes too, and I kind of miss the tracksuit. We meet Ivy at a casual restaurant where we know we can take up table space and refill our drinks for a bit, spreading menus out across a few tables.

After we've discussed some food options--they want to keep things healthy, but not too healthy--we narrow to three main courses. Despite Ivy's initial hesitations, she's gone headfirst into Bride Mode, and what started as a simple backyard wedding has turned into a semi-formal seated dinner affair. It suits her better, the fancier setting, and I'm glad she changed her mind a few months ago.

"I'll see what Matt wants, but I think you're right about the chicken and vegetarian dishes. We've had a few RSVPs for each, and the pepper-crusted filet is going to make a perfect beef option."

"I'm getting hungry again just thinking about it," Mom says cheerfully.

I nod and agree.

"Now, what do we think for these bouquet options?"